Cable-equipped connector

ABSTRACT

A cable-equipped connector, in which a composite connector comprises a conversion element that converts optical signals and electrical signals, a circuit board in which circuit components for transmitting electrical signals are provided to a plated-shaped substrate and to which the conversion element is electrically connected, and a housing that houses the conversion element, the circuit board and the ends of electrical cables; wherein in the housing, the ends of the electrical cables are isolated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the connection with the mating electrical connector, from at least either one of the conversion element or the circuit components of the circuit board by a separator of the housing or the substrate of the circuit board.

This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No.2015-220284, filed on Nov. 10, 2015, the contents of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a cable-equipped connector, in whichthe connector is a composite connector, and a composite cable comprisingan optical fiber cable and electrical cables in separate systems isconnected to the composite connector.

2. Related Art

The cable-equipped connector in Patent Document 1 is a known example ofa cable-equipped connector (see FIG. 17 in Patent Document 1). Thecomposite connector of the cable-equipped connector is adapted to beconnected to a connection counterpart such that the direction of theconnection that is facing forward toward the connection counterpart (thedirection to the left in FIG. 17 in Patent Document 1). In PatentDocument 1, an opto-electrical composite connector to which a compositecable is connected (hereinafter referred to as a “composite connector”)has a circuit board provided inside a housing. On the upper face of thecircuit board are provided a light receiving-and-emitting element forconverting optical signals and electrical signals, opto-electricalconverter electrodes that are electrically connected to the lightreceiving-and-emitting element, and a control-use semiconductor that iselectrically connected to the opto-electrical converter electrodes viathe circuit wiring of the circuit board to control electrical signallevels. The optical fiber cable from the composite cable is opticallyconnected to the light receiving-and-emitting element. Meanwhile, on thelower face of the circuit board are provided wire connection-useelectrodes at a position adjacent to the opto-electrical converterelectrodes in terms of the forward-and-rearward direction, such that theelectrical cables of the composite cable are connected to the wireconnection-use electrodes. Thus, in Patent Document 1, the transmissionof optical signals, the conversion of optical signals and electricalsignals, and the transmission of electrical signals are performed on theupper face side of the circuit board within a single internal space inthe housing, while the transmission of other electrical signals isperformed on the lower face side of the circuit board.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 5342986

SUMMARY Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In general, with a light receiving-and-emitting element, electricalsignals immediately after conversion when converting from an opticalsignal to an electrical signal are faint, and electrical signalsimmediately before conversion when converting from an electrical signalto an optical signal are faint. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, whenthe simultaneous operations of converting an optical signal and anelectrical signal and transmitting the electrical signal on circuitwiring are performed on the upper face of the circuit board, while onthe lower face of the circuit board, connecting the electrical cables tothe circuit board is attempted at locations adjacent to one other at theupper face and lower face sides of one circuit board, theabove-mentioned faint electrical signals on the upper face side aresusceptible to noise coming from the above-mentioned other electricalsignals on the lower face side through the interior of the circuitboard.

In particular, when an optical signal is converted to an electricalsignal by the light receiving-and-emitting element, the faint electricalsignal immediately after the conversion is amplified by a control-usesemiconductor, while the above-mentioned noise is still superposed overthe electrical signal and, as a result, this noise also ends up beingamplified.

The present invention was conceived in light of this situation, and itis an object thereof to provide a cable-equipped connector, with whichan electrical signal before or after conversion between an opticalsignal and an electrical signal is not susceptible to noise from otherelectrical signals.

Means for Solving the Problems

The cable-equipped connector pertaining to the present invention is acomposite connector, and a composite cable comprising an optical fibercable and electrical cables in separate systems is connected to thecomposite connector, wherein the composite connector is electricallyconnectable to a mating electrical connector, the mating electricalconnector being a connection counterpart of the composite connector, andthe composite connector comprises a conversion element that convertsoptical signals and electrical signals, a circuit board in which circuitcomponents for transmitting electrical signals are provided to aplate-shaped substrate and to which the conversion element iselectrically connected, and a housing that houses the conversionelement, the circuit board and the ends of the electrical cables; theoptical fiber cable is connected to the conversion element; and theelectrical cables are isolated in the cable-equipped connector in whichterminals to be electrically connected to the mating electricalconnector are provided to the ends of the electrical cables.

With the present invention, such a cable-equipped connector ischaracterized by the fact that, in the housing, the ends of theelectrical cables are isolated, in a direction perpendicular to thedirection of the connection with the mating electrical connector, fromat least either one of the conversion element or the circuit componentsof the circuit board by a separator of the housing or the substrate ofthe circuit board.

With the present invention, the ends of the electrical cables areisolated, in a direction perpendicular to the direction of theconnection with the mating electrical connector, from at least eitherone of the conversion element or the circuit components of the circuitboard by a separator of the housing or the substrate of the circuitboard, and thus these will not be located near one another. Therefore,an electrical signal before or after conversion between an opticalsignal and an electrical signal at the conversion element is notsusceptible to noise from electrical signals transmitted by theelectrical cables.

In the present invention, the composite connector may further comprisean electrical connection element that is disposed on the mounting faceof the circuit board to electrically connect the circuit components ofthe circuit board and the conversion element.

In the present invention, the composite connector may further comprise ashield member that covers the conversion element. The provision of thisshield member more reliably prevents an electrical signal before orafter conversion between an optical signal and an electrical signal atthe conversion element from being affected by noise from electricalsignals transmitted by the electrical cables.

Effects of the Invention

With the present invention, since, within the housing, the ends of theelectrical cable is isolated, in a direction perpendicular to thedirection of the connection with the mating electrical connector, fromat least either one of the conversion element or the circuit componentsof the circuit board by a separator of the housing or the substrate ofthe circuit board, such that these will not be located near one another,an electrical signal before or after conversion between an opticalsignal and an electrical signal at the conversion element can beprevented from being affected by noise from electrical signalstransmitted by the electrical cables.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the cable-equipped connector pertaining toan embodiment of the present invention and the mating electricalconnector before the connectors are mated and connected.

FIG. 2 is an oblique cross section in a plane perpendicular to theconnector width direction of the cable-equipped connector in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross section in a plane perpendicular to the connectorwidth direction of the cable-equipped connector in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A-4C shows simplified views of parts of the process formanufacturing a cable-equipped connector, with FIG. 4A showing the statebefore the conversion element-side optical fiber core and the cable-sideoptical fiber core are connected, FIG. 4B the state in which the opticalfiber cores in FIG. 4A are connected together and the connected portionis supported in an optical fiber connection support, and FIG. 4C thestate in which the conversion element in FIG. 4B is connected to anelectrical connection element on a circuit board, while the opticalfiber connection support is disposed on the circuit board.

FIG. 5 is an oblique view in which the optical fiber connection support,etc., are disposed on a mounting face of the circuit board.

FIG. 6 is an oblique view of the circuit board in FIG. 5 with electricalcables, etc.

FIG. 7 is an oblique view in which the circuit board in FIG. 6 is housedin an inner housing member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the cable-equipped connector 1 pertainingto an embodiment of the present invention and the mating electricalconnector 2 before the connectors are mated and connected. Thecable-equipped connector 1 is configured such that a composite cable C,comprising an optical fiber cable OC (see FIG. 4) and electrical cablesEC (see FIGS. 3 and 6) in separate systems, is connected to a compositeconnector 10 (discussed below). The cable-equipped connector 1 isadapted to be electrically connected by way of being mated to the matingelectrical connector 2, wherein the connector is to be connected in thedirection toward the lower left as shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment,the direction to the lower left in FIG. 1, that is, the direction of theconnector to be connected, is called “forward,” the opposite direction(the direction to the upper right in FIG. 1) is called “rearward,” andthe direction perpendicular to both the forward-and-rearward directionand the upward-and-downward direction is called the “connector widthdirection.”

The mating electrical connector 2, which is the connection counterpartof the cable-equipped connector 1, is provided as a part of anelectrical device (not shown); and the cable-equipped connector 1 isadapted to be mated and connected to the mating electrical connector 2from the rear. The cable-equipped connector 1 and the mating electricalconnector 2 constitute a so-called push-pull type connector assembly,and their mating operation itself is publicly known.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cable-equipped connector 1 is configured suchthat the composite cable C is connected from the rear to the compositeconnector 10, which has a cylindrical profile that extends in theforward-and-rearward direction. The composite cable C is made as asingle cable overall, such that a plurality of optical fiber cables OC(see FIG. 4) and a plurality of electrical cables EC are covered in abundle therein. In this embodiment, the composite cable C has twooptical fiber cables OC and four electrical cables EC, such that in eachof the upper and lower halves of the composite connector 10, one opticalfiber cable OC and two electrical cables EC are connected. In thisembodiment, the optical fiber cables OC are adapted to transmithigh-speed signals, and the electrical cables EC transmit low-speedsignals or power supply current.

The optical fiber cables OC or the electrical cables EC are respectivelyexposed from the end of the composite cable C. Also, an optical fibercore OC1 (hereinafter referred to as the “cable-side optical fiber coreOC1”) is exposed from the end of an optical fiber cable OC. Theelectrical cable terminals 170, which electrically connect to the matingelectrical connector 2, are attached to the end of the electrical cablesEC by crimping, for example (see FIGS. 3 and 6).

The composite connector 10 is electrically mated and connected to themating electrical connector 2. When being mated and connected to themating electrical connector 2, the composite connector 10 converts anoptical signal transmitted from the optical fiber cable OC into anelectrical signal, and transmits this electrical signal to the side ofthe mating electrical connector 2. That is, the composite connector 10functions as an opto-electrical conversion connector. On the other hand,the composite connector 10 transmits an electrical signal from theelectrical cables EC directly as an electrical signal, withoutperforming signal conversion, to the side of the mating electricalconnector 2.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the internal configuration of the composite connector10. FIG. 2 is an oblique cross section in a plane perpendicular to theconnector width direction of the cable-equipped connector in FIG. 1, andshows a cross section at a position that is offset to the front side(the lower right in FIG. 2) from the center in the connector widthdirection. FIG. 3 is a cross section in a plane perpendicular to theconnector width direction of the cable-equipped connector in FIG. 1, andshows a cross section at a position that is slightly offset to the backside in FIG. 3 from the position in FIG. 2 in the connector widthdirection, and more specifically, the view at the location of theterminal holding holes 84A (discussed below). Also, in FIGS. 2 and 3,only the portions of the optical fiber cables OC and the electricalcables EC housed in the composite connector 10 are shown, while theother portions are omitted from the drawings (the same applies to FIGS.5 to 7).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the composite connector 10 mainly comprises:a circuit board 20 that transmits electrical signals; an electricalconnection element 30 that is mounted on the mounting face of thecircuit board 20; a conversion element 40 that is electrically connectedto the electrical connection element 30 and converts optical signals andelectrical signals; a shield member 50 that covers the electricalconnection element 30 and the conversion element 40; an optical fiberconnection support 60 that is disposed on the mounting face of thecircuit board 20 to support the connected portion of the conversionelement-side optical fiber core 42 (discussed below) and the cable-sideoptical fiber core OC1; a housing 70 that houses the circuit board 20,the electrical connection element 30, the conversion element 40, theshield member 50, the optical fiber connection support 60 and the frontends of the electrical cables EC; an outer cylinder member 100 that isattached to the front end of the housing 70; and a fastening member 110that is attached to the rear end of the housing 70.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the composite connector10 is configured symmetrically in the upward-and-downward direction withrespect to the circuit board 20 (in the direction of the thickness ofthe circuit board 20), such that the circuit board 20 is disposed at thecenter in the upward-and-downward direction. In the followingdescription of the configuration of the composite connector 10,excluding the description of the configuration of the circuit board 20,the configuration of the upper half will be described, but theconfiguration of the lower half will not be described since it is merelya vertical inversion of the upper half.

As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 20 is provided at the center inthe upward-and-downward direction in the housing 70, such that its boardsurface extends in the forward-and-rearward direction perpendicular tothe upward-and-downward direction. The circuit board 20 has circuitcomponents, for transmitting electrical signals, formed on the upper andlower faces of a substrate 21 that is in the form of a plate made of anelectrically insulating material, and these upper and lower faces makeup the mounting faces. The above-mentioned circuit components comprise amounting area (not shown) to which the electrical connection element 30is soldered at the center of the substrate 21 in theforward-and-rearward direction, connection components 22 (see FIGS. 5and 6) that are provided at the front end of the substrate 21 and can beconnected to the mating electrical connector 2, and wiring (not shown)that extends in the forward-and-rearward direction to link the mountingarea and the connection components 22.

In this embodiment, the electrical connection element 30 is soldered tothe mounting area of the circuit board 20 and also serves as anelectrical connector for the circuit board, and the electricalconnection element 30 is electrically connected to the conversionelement 40 by mating the conversion element 40 thereto from above (seeFIG. 4C). This electrical connection element 30 comprises a plurality ofterminals (not shown) arranged in the forward-and-rearward direction,and a housing 31 in which these terminals are arranged and held. Asshown in FIG. 4C, in the housing 31, the receiver 31A for receiving theconversion element 40 is provided, with the opening of the receiver 31Afacing upward.

In this embodiment, the conversion element 40 is a connector thatconverts the optical signals transmitted from the optical fiber cable OCinto electrical signals. As shown in FIG. 4C, the conversion element 40comprises a conversion element main body 41 that is mated from above tothe receiver 31A of the electrical connection element 30 and an opticalfiber core 42 that extends to the rear (to the right in FIG. 4C) fromthe conversion element main body 41 (hereinafter the optical fiber core42 is referred to as the “conversion element-side optical fiber core42”).

The conversion element main body 41 comprises a light-receiving element(not shown) that converts the optical signals transmitted from theoptical fiber cables OC into electrical signals, a drive device (notshown) that drives the light-receiving element, a plurality of terminals(not shown) for transmitting the electrical signals converted fromoptical signals by the light-receiving element, and a housing 41A (seeFIGS. 4A to 4C) that holds the light-receiving element, the drive deviceand the plurality of terminals. The light-receiving element is, forexample, an optical semiconductor element for converting optical signalsinto electrical signals constituted by a surface light-receiving typeelement (such as a photodiode (PD)) or the like. The drive device isconstituted by, for example, a transimpedance amplifier/limitingamplifier (TIA/LA).

Also, in this embodiment, the power is supplied from the side of thecircuit board 20 through the electrical connection element 30 to drivethe drive device. Therefore, even when the electrical cables EC are usedas power supply cables, the power to the drive device will not besupplied through the electrical cables EC. As a result, as will bediscussed below, in addition to disposing the conversion element 40inside an inner housing member 80, disposing the front ends of theelectrical cables EC outside the inner housing member 80 and an upperwall 85, which serves as a partition of the inner housing member 80,enables the conversion element 40 and the electrical cables EC to beseparated (see FIG. 3, for example).

The conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 is held in the housing41A, thereby being connected to the conversion element main body 41,with the front end of the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42being aligned with the light-receiving element of the conversion elementmain body 41. Also, as will be discussed below, inside a support hole 61of the optical fiber connection support 60, the rear end of theconversion element-side optical fiber core 42 is connected to the frontend of the cable-side optical fiber core OC1, with the rear end of theconversion element-side optical fiber core 42 being aligned with thecable-side optical fiber core OC1 (see FIGS. 4B and 4C).

In this embodiment, the conversion element 40 may convert opticalsignals into electrical signals as mentioned above, but alternatively,the conversion element 40 may be adapted to convert electrical signalstransmitted from the electrical connection element 30 into opticalsignals by the conversion element 40. In the latter case, instead of thelight-receiving element, for example, a surface light-emitting typeelement (such as a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) typeelement) or the like can be provided to the conversion element 40. Inthis case, an example of the drive device includes a device to drive theabove-mentioned light-emitting element (such as a VCSEL driver).

The shield member 50 is made by bending a sheet metal material in thesheet thickness direction, and has a cuboid shape with the openingfacing downward as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The shield member 50 issoldered to the mounting face of the circuit board 20, such that theelectrical connection element 30 and the conversion element 40 that aremated and connected to each other are covered by the shield member 50.That is, the shield member 50 surrounds the electrical connectionelement 30 and the conversion element 40 from above as well as from foursides (both sides in the forward-and-rearward direction and both sidesin the connector width direction) that are perpendicular to theupward-and-downward direction. As a result, electrical signalstransmitted between the electrical connection element 30 and theconversion element 40 are not susceptible to noise from the outside,particularly from other electrical signals transmitted by the electricalcables EC.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the optical fiber connection support 60 is amember for supporting the connected portion of the rear end of theconversion element-side optical fiber core 42 and the front end of thecable-side optical fiber core OC1, and in this embodiment, the opticalfiber connection support 60 is made up of a capillary. The optical fiberconnection support 60 has a cylindrical shape that extends in theforward-and-rearward direction, and passing through its interior, thesupport hole 61 is formed as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, such that thesupport hole 61 has a diameter slightly larger than that of each of theoptical fiber cores, 42 or OC1, and extends in the forward-and-rearwarddirection. In this optical fiber connection support 60, by insertinginto the support hole 61 the rear end of the conversion element-sideoptical fiber core 42 from the front and the front end of the cable-sideoptical fiber core OC1 from the rear to bring them into contact, theconversion element-side optical fiber core 42 and the cable-side opticalfiber core OC1 can be automatically aligned inside the support hole 61.That is, the support hole 61 functions as an alignment support thatautomatically aligns the optical fiber cores 42 and OC1 by supportingthem. Also, when the optical fiber cores 42 and OC1 are connectedtogether, an adhesive is injected ahead of time into the support hole61, and after the optical fiber cores 42 and OC1 have come into contactinside the support hole 61, this adhesive is cured to fix and supportthe connected portion of the two.

The optical fiber connection support 60 is not limited to being theabove-mentioned capillary, and various members can be employed, such asa mechanical splice or other such member having a groove that supportsand aligns the ends of the optical fiber cores.

The optical fiber connection support 60 is fixed on the mounting face ofthe circuit board 20 by a tape or the like at a position to the rear ofthe electrical connection element 30 and the conversion element 40covered by the shield member 50 and at the center in the connector widthdirection (see FIGS. 5 and 6). In this embodiment, the optical fiberconnection support 60 and the electrical connection element 30 andconversion element 40 are disposed in such a way that these arepositioned to partly overlap in the connector width direction, and thesize of the composite connector 10 can thereby be made smaller in theconnector width direction. Also, as seen clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6, oneach side in the connector width direction of the optical fiberconnection support 60, the restricting member 180 is attached to theupper face of the circuit board 20 so as to be adjacent to the opticalfiber connection support 60, and these two restricting members 180prevent unintended movement in the connector width direction of theoptical fiber connection support 60.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing 70 comprises the inner housingmember 80, which is made from an electrically insulating material andextends in the forward-and-rearward direction, and an outer housingmember 90, which is made from an electrically insulating material andextends in the forward-and-rearward direction and houses the innerhousing member 80.

As seen clearly in FIG. 7, the inner housing member 80 is made in ashape in which the upper and lower faces are flat, and the side faces inthe connector width direction are curved and convex. As shown in FIG. 2,a space having a square cross section in the forward-and-rearwarddirection is formed in the interior of the inner housing member 80, suchthat the space passes through in the forward-and-rearward direction.This space is divided in two in the forward-and-rearward direction by apartition 81 provided at a position near the front end.

The space forward of the partition 81 houses, at the center in theupward-and-downward direction, the front end of the circuit board 20protruding forward through the partition 81, that is, the space wherethe connection component 22 is provided, and this space forward of thepartition 81 is divided in two in the upward-and-downward direction bythe front end of the circuit board 20. The spaces resulting from thisdivision are respectively formed as inner mating recesses 82 forreceiving, from the front, the corresponding inner mating components(not shown) of the mating electrical connector 2. Also, as shown in FIG.2, within said space, at the front end and at the center in theupward-and-downward direction, a positioning component 82A is providedthat extends in the connector width direction over the entire gapbetween inner wall faces that oppose each other in the connector widthdirection, and the circuit board 20 is adapted to be positioned in theforward-and-rearward direction by bringing the front end face of thecircuit board 20 into contact with the rear face of the positioningcomponent 82A.

The space rearward of the partition 81 houses, at the center in theupward-and-downward direction, the portion of the circuit board 20excluding the front end part, and thus the space rearward of thepartition 81 is divided in two in the upward-and-downward direction bythe circuit board 20. The spaces resulting from this division arerespectively formed as inner housing spaces 83 for housing theelectrical connection element 30, the conversion element 40 (see FIGS.4A to 4C), the shield member 50, and the optical fiber connectionsupport 60.

As seen clearly in FIG. 7, the inner housing member 80 has a terminalholder 84 that protrudes in a substantially cuboid shape from its upperface at a position on the front end side. In the terminal holder 84, twoterminal holding holes 84A are formed and arranged in the connectorwidth direction so as to hold the electrical cable terminals 170attached to the front ends of the electrical cables EC. These twoterminal holding holes 84A are formed such that they pass through theterminal holder 84 in the forward-and-rearward direction, and hold theelectrical cable terminals 170 that are inserted from the rear.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a groove 84B that extends in theforward-and-rearward direction is formed in the upper face of theterminal holder 84. As will be discussed below, this groove 84B isadapted to position the outer housing member 90 in the connector widthdirection by latching onto a rib 91 on the outer housing member 90 inthe connector width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an outer housing space 71 that extends in theforward-and-rearward direction between the inner housing member 80 andthe outer housing member 90 is formed to the rear of the terminal holder84, and the front ends of the electrical cables EC are housed in thisouter housing space 71. Thus, in this embodiment, the circuit board 20,the electrical connection element 30 and the conversion element 40 arelocated inside the inner housing member 80, while the front ends of theelectrical cables EC are located outside the inner housing member 80.That is, since they are isolated in the upward-and-downward direction bythe upper wall 85, which serves as a partition of the inner housingmember 80, they will not be in close proximity to each other. Therefore,electrical signals converted from optical signals by the conversionelement 40 are less apt to be affected by noise from other electricalsignals transmitted by the electrical cables EC. In particular, when theelectrical cables EC are used as power supply cables, the power supplycurrent is usually high, which generates a large amount of noise, sothis embodiment will be very effective in reducing the effect of noise.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer housing member 90 has an approximatelycylindrical shape that extends longer than the circuit board 20 and theinner housing member 80 in the forward-and-rearward direction, and itsrear end is located to the rear of the rear ends of the circuit board 20and the inner housing member 80. The rib 91, which extends in theforward-and-rearward direction and protrudes downward from the innerperipheral face at an upper end location, is formed at the front end ofthe outer housing member 90. This rib 91 fits into the groove 84B of theterminal holder 84 of the inner housing member 80 (see FIG. 7), and asmentioned above, the rib 91 is positioned in the connector widthdirection by latching the groove 84B in the connector width direction.Also, on the outer housing member 90, an outer peripheral protrusion 92is provided near the front end, which protrudes radially outward fromthe outer peripheral face over the entire circumference.

As seen clearly in FIGS. 1 to 3, the outer cylinder member 100 has ahollow cylindrical shape extending in the forward-and-rearwarddirection, and is attached to the front end of the housing 70 such thatthe front end of the housing 70 is housed in the outer cylinder member100. The annular space formed between the inner peripheral face of theouter cylinder member 100 and the outer peripheral face of the front endof the outer housing member 90 of the housing 70 functions as an outermating recess 101 for receiving, from the front, an outer matingcomponent 230 (see FIG. 1) corresponding to the mating electricalconnector.

On the outer cylinder member 100, an inner peripheral protrusion 102 isprovided at the center in the forward-and-rearward direction, whichprotrudes radially inward from the inner peripheral face over the entirecircumference. As seen clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner peripheralprotrusion 102 is located forward of the outer peripheral protrusion 92of the outer housing member 90. As shown in FIG. 3, a coil spring 160 isprovided in the space formed in the forward-and-rearward directionbetween the inner peripheral protrusion 102 of the outer cylinder member100 and the outer peripheral protrusion 92 of the outer housing member90. The outer cylinder member 100 is of the so-called push-pull type,whereby in the course of mating with the mating electrical connector 2,the outer cylinder member 100 can slide in the forward-and-rearwarddirection with respect to the outer housing member 90 by the expansionand contraction of the coil spring 160. As discussed above, thispush-pull mating operation is itself known, and will therefore not bedescribed again here.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fastening member 110 has a cylindricalshape extending in the forward-and-rearward direction, the compositecable C is inserted into it, and it is screwed to the outer peripheralface of the rear end of the outer housing member 90. On the rear end ofthe fastening member 110, a pressing protrusion 111 is provided, whichprotrudes radially inward from the inner peripheral face of thefastening member 110 over the entire circumference. The front end faceof the pressing protrusion 111 is provided as a tapered pressing face111A, which tapers radially outward toward the front around thefastening member 110.

A cable-holding member 120 for holding the composite cable C is providedin the interior of the fastening member 110. The cable-holding member120 has a hollow cylindrical shape, with the axis running in theforward-and-rearward direction, and the composite cable C is insertedtherethrough. In the cable-holding member 120, slits (not shown) thatextend in the forward-and-rearward direction are formed at a pluralityof locations in the peripheral direction, thereby forming a plurality ofcable-holding pieces 121 that are elastically displaceable in the radialdirection over the entire rear half of the cable-holding member 120.

At the rear end of a cable-holding piece 121, a tapered pressed face121A is provided, which tapers toward the rear and inward in the radialdirection around the cable-holding member 120. The pressed face 121A isin contact with the pressing face 111A of the fastening member 110 andis adapted to simultaneously receive, from the pressing face 111A, theinward pressing force in the radial direction mentioned above and theforward pressing force. As will be discussed below, when the pressedfaces 121A receive the inward pressing force in the radial directionmentioned above, the cable-holding pieces 121 are elastically displacedin the same direction to hold the composite cable C. Also, as will bediscussed below, the pressed faces 121A receive the forward pressingforce, thereby positioning the circuit board 20 in theforward-and-rearward direction. The fastening member 110 may be attachedto the rear end of the outer housing member 90 by screwing, but themethod of attaching the fastening member 110 should not be limited tothis, and the fastening member 110 can be, for example, attached fromthe rear such that the rear end of the outer housing member ispress-fitted to the fastening member.

A metal Kevlar-retaining member 130 for retaining the Kevlar® exposedfrom the front end of the composite cable C and a metal crimp ring 140are provided forward of the cable-holding member 120. As seen clearly inFIG. 3, the front ends of the Kevlar-retaining member 130 and the crimpring 140 are placed at the same location as the front end of thecomposite cable C. The Kevlar-retaining member 130 has a hollowcylindrical shape, with the axis running in the forward-and-rearwarddirection; the composite cable C is inserted therethrough, and theKevlar-retaining member 130 is attached to the outer peripheral face ofthe composite cable C. Although not depicted in the drawings, the rearend face of the Kevlar-retaining member 130 is in partial contact withthe front end face of the cable-holding member 120 in some areas in theperipheral direction of the Kevlar-retaining member 130 and, as will bediscussed below, the rear end face of the Kevlar-retaining member 130can receive the forward pressing force from the cable-holding member120.

The crimp ring 140 has a hollow cylindrical shape, with the axis runningin the forward-and-rearward direction, and the Kevlar-retaining member130 is inserted therethrough. The Kevlar exposed from the end of thecomposite cable C is disposed between the crimp ring 140 and theKevlar-retaining member 130, and by crimping the crimp ring 140 in theradial direction, the exposed Kevlar is sandwiched between the crimpring 140 and the Kevlar-retaining member 130. Even when the crimp ring140 is crimped, the Kevlar-retaining member 130 is not deformed in theradial direction, thus preventing damage to the electrical cables EC andthe optical fiber cables OC in the composite cable C.

A rubber ring 150 is provided forward of the Kevlar-retaining member 130and the crimp ring 140. The rubber ring 150 has a hole, the diameterbeing about the same as the inside diameter of the covering of thecomposite cable C, with the axis running in the forward-and-rearwarddirection. On the front end face of the rubber ring 150, a slit 151 isformed at the center in the upward-and-downward direction to hold therear end of the circuit board 20. The rear end face of the rubber ring150 is in contact with the front end faces of the Kevlar-retainingmember 130 and the crimp ring 140 and, as will be discussed below, therear end face of the rubber ring 150 can receive the forward pressingforce from the Kevlar-retaining member 130 and the crimp ring 140.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mating electrical connector 2 has asubstantially cylindrical shape, which extends in theforward-and-rearward direction, and the cable-equipped connector 1 is tobe mated and connected to the mating electrical connector 2 from therear. As shown in FIG. 1, the mating electrical connector 2 comprises aplurality of inner mating terminals 210 that are arranged in the middlein the upward-and-downward direction, and a plurality of outer matingterminals 220 positioned such that the inner mating terminals 210 flankthe outer mating terminals 220 in the upward-and-downward direction. Theinner mating terminals 210 come into communication with the connectioncomponents 22 of the circuit board 20 of the cable-equipped connector 1when the inner mating terminals 210 are mated and connected to thecable-equipped connector 1. Also, the outer mating terminals 220 comeinto communication with the electrical cable terminals 170 attached tothe electrical cables EC of the cable-equipped connector 1 when theouter mating terminals 220 are mated and connected to the cable-equippedconnector 1. The inner mating terminals 210 and the outer matingterminals 220 comprise connection legs 211 and 221, respectively, whichextend forward to jut out from the housing. The inner mating terminals210 and the outer mating terminals 220 are adapted to be connected viathe connection legs 211 and 221 to the corresponding circuit components(not shown) of an electrical device. Also, in the correspondingcylindrically shaped outer mating component 230 of the mating electricalconnector 2, in order to lock with the lock component (not shown) of thecable-equipped connector 1, a corresponding lock component 231 isprovided on both sides in the connector width direction.

The process for manufacturing the cable-equipped connector 1 pertainingto this embodiment will now be described. The description will focus onthe steps in the upper half of the composite connector 10. Since thesteps for the lower half are, except for being vertically inverted, thesame as those for the upper half, they will not be described. Also, theorder of the steps described below is merely an example, and the orderof the steps may be changed as needed.

First, the fastening member 110, the cable-holding member 120, theKevlar-retaining member 130, the crimp ring 140 and the rubber ring 150are, in this order from the front, allowed to slip over the front end ofthe composite cable C. Next, the cover is removed from the front end ofthe composite cable C to expose the two cable-side optical fiber coresand four electrical cables EC. Then, the Kevlar, which has been exposedupon the removal of the cover from the front end of the composite cableC, is folded back and disposed between the Kevlar-retaining member 130and the crimp ring 140 to sandwich the Kevlar therebetween by crimpingthe crimp ring 140 in the radial direction. Also, the electrical cableterminals 170, which are formed by bending a sheet metal materials, arepress-fitted to the front ends of each of the electrical cables EC.

Meanwhile, the conversion element main body 41 is made in advance byholding, in the housing 41A, the light-receiving element, the drivedevice and a plurality of terminals by means of integral molding, andthe conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 is connected to theconversion element main body 41 in a state of alignment with thelight-receiving element to construct the finished conversion element 40.

Next, an adhesive is injected into the support hole 61 of the opticalfiber connection support 60, and as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the rearend of the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 of theconversion element 40 is inserted from the front into the support hole61 of the optical fiber connection support 60, the front end of thecable-side optical fiber core OC1 is inserted from the rear into thesupport hole 61, and the end faces of the optical fiber cores are buttedtogether. As a result, the optical fiber cores are automatically alignedand are connected due to the curing of the adhesive, so that theconnected portions are supported within the support hole 61. The opticalfiber cores 42 and OC1 may be connected in a state in which theircoatings have been removed, if needed.

Also, the electrical connection element 30 is mounted by soldering tothe mounting area on the mounting face of the circuit board 20 (see FIG.4C). Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the conversion element 40 is mated andconnected to the electrical connection element 30 from above, and then,at a position to the rear of the electrical connection element 30, theoptical fiber connection support 60 is fixed on the mounting face of thecircuit board 20 by tape or the like. Also, the restricting members 180are attached to the mounting face on both sides of the optical fiberconnection support 60 in the connector width direction to restrictunintended movement of the optical fiber connection support 60 in theconnector width direction.

Next, the shield member 50 is put in place from above so as to cover theelectrical connection element 30 and the conversion element 40, whichare mated together, and the shield member 50 is soldered to the mountingface of the circuit board 20 (see FIG. 5). The composite cable C, thefastening member 110, the rubber ring 150 and so forth are not shown inFIG. 5, but actually, the rear end of the circuit board 20 is supportedby the rubber ring 150, and the electrical cables EC exposed from thecomposite cable C are disposed above the optical fiber core, as shown inFIG. 6.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the inner housing member 80 is provided fromthe front, while the circuit board 20 is housed in the internal space ofthe inner housing member 80 from the rear. At this point, the circuitboard 20 is inserted until it comes into contact with the positioningcomponent 82A of the inner housing member 80. As a result, theabove-mentioned internal space is divided into the two inner housingspaces 83 in the upward-and-downward direction by the circuit board 20,and the electrical connection element 30, the conversion element 40, theshield member 50 and the optical fiber connection support 60 are housedin the inner housing spaces 83 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

Also, the electrical cable terminals 170 attached to the front end ofthe electrical cables EC are attached by inserting them from the rearinto the terminal holding holes 84A of the inner housing member 80,thereby connecting the electrical cables EC to the inner housing member80. As a result, while the electrical cable terminals 170 are supportedin the terminal holder 84, the front ends of the electrical cables ECextend along the upper face of the inner housing member 80 in theforward-and-rearward direction outside the inner housing member 80, asshown in FIG. 3.

Also, the cylindrical member 100 is attached to the front end of theouter housing member 90 by inserting the outer housing member 90 intothe cylindrical member 100 from the front. At this point, the coilspring 160 is pre-attached to the front end of the outer housing member90, and as a result, with the installation of the outer cylinder member100 being completed, the coil spring 160 is provided in the gap in theforward-and-rearward direction between the inner peripheral protrusion102 of the outer cylinder member 100 and the outer peripheral protrusion92 of the outer housing member 90 to enable the outer cylinder member100 to slide in the forward-and-rearward direction with respect to theouter housing member 90 by the expansion and contraction of the coilspring 160.

Next, the outer housing member 90, to which the outer cylinder member100 is attached, is attached to the inner housing member 80 from thefront. At this point, the rib 91 of the outer housing member 90 isinserted from the front into the groove 84B of the terminal holder 84 ofthe inner housing member 80 and is latched with this groove 84B in theconnector width direction, so that the outer housing member 90 ispositioned in the connector width direction. Also, the inner peripheralface of the outer housing member 90 is brought into contact with theupper face of the terminal holder 84 of the inner housing member 80,thereby positioning the outer housing member 90 in theupward-and-downward direction. Once the outer housing member 90 has thusbeen attached to the inner housing member 80, the outer housing space 71is formed between the outer housing member 90 and the inner housingmember 80, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front ends of theelectrical cables EC are housed in the outer housing space 71.

The fastening member 110 is then screwed to the rear end of the outerhousing member 90. During this screwing, when fastening member 110 movesforward, the pressing face 111A of the fastening member 110 comes intocontact with the pressed faces 121A of the cable-holding pieces 121 ofthe cable-holding member 120 to press the pressed faces 121A. As aresult, the inward pressing force in the radial direction and theforward pressing force will act on the pressed faces 121Asimultaneously.

When the pressed faces 121A receive the inward pressing force in theradial direction mentioned above, the cable-holding pieces 121 areelastically displaced inward in the radial direction and pressed againstthe outer peripheral face of the composite cable C. As a result, thecomposite cable C is supported by the cable-holding pieces 121 toprevent the composite cable C from accidentally coming loose, etc., fromthe composite connector 10. Also, when the pressed faces 121A receivethe forward pressing force, the cable-holding member 120 is movedforward to press the rear end face of the Kevlar-retaining member 130forward.

When the rear end face of the Kevlar-retaining member 130 is pressedforward, the Kevlar-retaining member 130, the crimp ring 140 and thecomposite cable C move forward to press the rear end face of the rubberring 150 forward. When being pressed, the rubber ring 150 moves forwardtogether with the circuit board 20. The front end of the circuit board20 then comes in contact with the component 82A of the inner housingmember 80 to restrict any further forward movement, and the circuitboard 20 is thus positioned in the forward-and-rearward direction, atwhich point the work of screwing down the fastening member 110 iscomplete. This concludes the steps of manufacturing the cable-equippedconnector 1.

In this embodiment, as discussed above, in the manufacture of thecable-equipped connector 1, the conversion element-side optical fibercore 42 of the conversion element 40 and the cable-side optical fibercore OC1 of the optical fiber cables OC are connected, and theirconnected portions are supported by the optical fiber connection support60. That is, there is no need for the end of the cable-side opticalfiber core OC1 that is contiguous with the main portion of the compositecable C (the portion that makes up the overall length of the compositecable in a finished product) to be aligned with the conversion elementmain body 41. Also, when the conversion element-side optical fiber core42 and the cable-side optical fiber core OC1 are connected, the opticalfiber cores 42 and OC1 are together automatically aligned merely bydisposing both the optical fiber cores 42 and OC1 in the support hole 61of the optical fiber connection support 60, so the work of connectingthe optical fiber cores 42 and OC1 is very simple. Therefore, in thisembodiment, the main portion of the optical fiber cable OC and theconversion element 40 can be connected in a simple manner and in a shorttime.

Also, in this embodiment, the conversion element 40 is manufacturedbefore the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 and thecable-side optical fiber core OC1 are connected. As discussed above, themanufacture of the conversion element 40 entails the work of aligningand connecting the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 withthe conversion element main body 41. However, since the overall lengthof the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42 is short, the workinvolved in connecting the conversion element-side optical fiber core 42to the conversion element main body 41 is simple compared to when thecable-side optical fiber core contiguous with the main portion of a longoptical fiber cable is connected to the conversion element main body aswas done in the past.

Also, even when the overall length of the main portion of the compositecable C has been established and the conversion element-side opticalfiber core 42 and the cable-side optical fiber core OC1 are connected,preparing, in advance of establishing the above-mentioned overall lengthof the overall product, a conversion element 40 comprising a conversionelement-side optical fiber core 42 of a specified length allows suchconnection work to be carried out quickly, and as a result the durationfrom manufacturing preparation to completion of the finished product canbe much shorter than in the past. Also, even if the overall length ofthe main portion varies in each finished product, since a conversionelement 40 having a conversion element-side optical fiber core of thesame length can be used for all the products, there is no need toprepare various conversion elements having different lengths of theconversion element-side optical fiber core nor a need to prepare adedicated alignment apparatus suited to the overall length of the mainportion of the composite cable C for each product, which can suppresscost increases.

In this embodiment, the conversion element 40 may be connected to thecircuit components of the circuit board 20 indirectly, via theelectrical connection element 30 or, alternatively, the electricalconnection element may be omitted and the conversion element soldereddirectly to the circuit components of the circuit board. Also, in thisembodiment, the conversion element 40 may be electrically connected tothe inner mating terminals 210 (in the corresponding component forconnection) of the mating electrical connector 2, via the connectioncomponent 22 provided at the front end of the circuit board 20 or,alternatively, for example, the conversion element 40 may be connectedto the circuit components by disposing an electrical connector on themounting face at the front end of the circuit board such that theconversion element 40 is mated and connected to mating terminals 210 viathe electrical connector.

The composite connector 10 may be connected to both ends in thelengthwise direction of the composite cable C, or it may be connected toonly one of the ends.

In this embodiment, the composite connector 10 is configured to besymmetrical with respect to the circuit board 20 in theupward-and-downward direction, so that the electrical connection element30, the conversion element 40, the optical fiber connection support 60,and other elements are disposed on both sides of the circuit board 20;therefore, the number of the optical fiber cores and electrical cablesthat can be connected by a single composite connector may be twice thenumber of such elements disposed on one side of the circuit board 20.

In this embodiment, the electrical cables EC may be isolated from thecircuit components of the circuit board 20, the electrical connectionelement 30, and the conversion element 40 in the upward-and-downwarddirection, but the direction of the isolation is not limited to this andmay be any direction that is perpendicular to the direction in which theconnectors are connected together. Therefore, for example, theelectrical cables, the circuit components of the circuit board and soforth may be isolated in the connector width direction, by providing, ina housing, a partition serving as a separator having a board surfaceperpendicular to the connector width direction.

In this embodiment, the electrical cables EC may be housed in the spacebetween the outer housing member 90 and the inner housing member 80,whereby the housing 70 is constituted by two members, the inner housingmember 80 and the outer housing member 90, and whereby the circuit board20, the electrical connection element 30, and the conversion element 40are housed in the inner housing member 80, while the electrical cablesEC are housed in the space between the outer housing member 90 and theinner housing member 80, but having the housing be constituted by twomembers is not essential, and the housing may be constituted, forexample, by a single member. If the housing is constituted by a singlemember, then by providing, as a separator, a partition that divides theinternal space in the housing in the perpendicular direction relative tothe forward-and-rearward direction, the electrical cables may beisolated from the circuit components of the circuit board, theelectrical connection element, and the conversion element in theperpendicular direction relative to the above-mentionedforward-and-rearward direction. Moreover, in this case, theabove-mentioned separator may not be in the form of a wall like theabove-mentioned partition, and, for example, the separator may be in theform of a beam, whereby, in the housing, at least one part having such abeam shape is provided, which extends in the perpendicular directionrelative to the forward-and-rearward direction in the internal space ofthe housing.

In this embodiment, the circuit board 20 may be provided with circuitcomponents on each board surface, with the electrical connection element30, the conversion element 40, the optical fiber connection support 60and other elements respectively disposed on each board surface.Alternatively, the circuit board 20 may be provided with circuitcomponents on only one board surface, with the above-mentioned elementsdisposed on this one board surface. Moreover, in this case, theelectrical cables may be isolated from the circuit components of thecircuit board, the electrical connection element, and the conversionelement by means of the substrate of the above-mentioned circuit board,by disposing the electric cables on the side of the circuit boardopposite from the side on which the circuit components provided.

In this embodiment, one circuit board may be provided to the compositeconnector 10, but the number of circuit boards is not limited to one,and two or more circuit boards may be provided. Also, in thisembodiment, the circuit components may be provided on the board surfaceof the circuit board, but the circuit components may alternatively beprovided within the substrate. Moreover, the circuit board may be formedsuch that, as a circuit component, at least one terminal is supported bya substrate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   1 cable-equipped connector    -   2 mating electrical connector    -   10 composite connector    -   20 circuit board    -   21 substrate    -   30 electrical connection element    -   40 conversion element    -   42 conversion element-side optical fiber core    -   50 shield member    -   60 optical fiber connection support    -   61 support hole (alignment support)    -   70 housing    -   85 upper wall (partition)    -   170 electrical cable terminal    -   C composite cable    -   OC optical fiber cable    -   OC1 cable-side optical fiber core    -   EC electrical cable

The invention claimed is:
 1. A cable-equipped connector system,comprising: a composite connector, and a composite cable comprising anoptical fiber cable and electrical cables, the optical fiber cable andelectrical cables being separate from each other, the optical fibercable and electrical cables both connected to the composite connector,wherein said composite connector is electrically connectable to a matingelectrical connector, the mating electrical connector being a connectioncounterpart of the composite connector, and the composite connectorcomprises a conversion element that converts optical signals andelectrical signals, a circuit board in which circuit components fortransmitting electrical signals are provided to a plate-shaped substrateand to which said conversion element is electrically connected, and ahousing that houses said conversion element, said circuit board and theends of said electrical cables; said optical fiber cable is connected tosaid conversion element; and said electrical cables are isolated in thecable-equipped connector system in which terminals to be electricallyconnected to said mating electrical connector are provided to the endsof the electrical cables; wherein, in said housing, the ends of saidelectrical cables are isolated, in a direction perpendicular to thedirection of the connection with said mating electrical connector, fromat least either one of said conversion element or the circuit componentsof said circuit board by a separator of the housing or the substrate ofsaid circuit board.
 2. The cable-equipped connector system according toclaim 1, wherein the composite connector further comprises an electricalconnection element that is disposed on the mounting face of the circuitboard to electrically connect the circuit components of the circuitboard and the conversion element.
 3. The cable-equipped connector systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the composite connector further comprisesa shield member that covers the conversion element.